Paintball is a sport played among participants by propelling at each other a plurality of water soluble paint-filled gelatin capsules through a gas-powered marker. Games are often played with two teams previously or spontaneously “organized” to compete on a designated field of terrain, structure, and/or scenario.
There are a wide variety of marker designs, clothing, and eye protection goggles. Skill and interest levels vary widely as do current prices for 0.68 caliber (typically 0.682-0.692 inches in diameter) paintball rounds. Paintballs are available in 2000-2400 round cases for $40-$75 (US) or $0.02-$0.04 per paintball round. Most cases are made of four 500 or 600 round plastic bags.
Paintball rounds are not very accurate. Due to their spherical shape and liquid-filled center, the paintball does not react to traditional methods of trajectory stabilization. Reasonable accuracy is achievable to distances of about 10-15 m (30-50 ft). Beyond that, spin on the paintball can cause erratic behavior unless the diameter of the paintball is well matched to the internal diameter of the barrel. This, and a widespread misunderstanding of the drop rate due to gravity, explain why most paintball games are characterized by a “hit” rate of about 3-5%. Nonetheless, the exhilaration and adrenaline of the game mean that many paintball rounds will be fired from carried reservoir tubes.
The most common, commercially available supply hoppers that feed the marker will hold 200-300 rounds. This hopper is often refilled many times during a 15 minute match. Thus, additional reservoir tubes are typically worn in a waist harness and hold 100, 140, or 200 paintballs. Many players carry 2-10 additional reservoir tubes.
There is no good method for filling reservoir tubes quickly. Many players load paintballs into the tubes one handful at a time. Others cut a hole in one end of the bag and try to pour the paintballs while juggling the filling tube and emptying bag. An assistant is often used. These processes are relatively slow and are subject to slips that spill the entire tube or bag. It is well accepted that paintball rounds cannot, or at least should not, be used after a spill onto unpaved ground due to the adverse effects of particulate contamination on the fairly close tolerances of internal moving parts in the marker. Spilled paintball rounds represent a significant loss of time, resources, and investment.
For tournament players, speed to refill can an essential element between successive rounds. The team who can refill the fastest has a marked advantage in the subsequent game.
It would be advantageous to have a process and system that would help an individual to fill one or more paintball reservoir tubes rapidly, with high stability, and without the assistance of others.
It would also be helpful to have a filling process and system that would reduce the time needed to fill a reservoir tube or supply hopper with paintball rounds. It would be especially useful to have a process and fill system that would allow a player or team mate to refill one or more tubes in the 3-5 minutes.